The present invention relates generally to hand railings and, more particularly, to a rigid hand railing having a plurality of finger-sized indentations formed in one surface thereof to facilitate gripping by human hands and to a method of manufacture of such a hand railing and a tool for use in such manufacture.
Hand railings are placed in use throughout the world to assist in related human activity. For example, stairs are typically provided with hand railings to assist people in traversing up or down the stairs. Swimming pools are equipped with hand railings to provide assistance for people entering or exiting the water. Vehicles, such as ambulances, are also provided with hand railings to provide a gripping surface for the people using the vehicle. Typically, such railings are extruded shapes, such as a circular tube or a ribbed ornate shape, and are constructed from a durable metal, such as stainless steel.
Such typical hand railings, however, do not provide a positive gripping surface which would still further assist in the corresponding human activity associated with the hand railing, particularly in activity normally associated with the handicapped. Furthermore, a positive gripping, undulating surface would not be conducive to extruded manufacture. Elastomeric grips, such as bicycle grips, have been provided to be mounted on tubing members to facilitate gripping thereof; however, such grips are normally limited to the very ends of the tubing member and cannot provide a positive gripping surface along the intermediate portions thereof.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a hand railing structure that would provide a positive gripping surface along substantially the entire longitudinal length thereof. Since such a hand railing would not be conducive to manufacture by extrusion, a method of manufacture and tooling to be used in the manufacture would also be desirable.